John Phelan

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.

Over the last year Minnesota has added more people but fewer jobs that the nation as a whole. The number of Minnesotans not working - either unemployed or out of…

A new report from the Housing Affordability Institute shows that many of Minnesota's cities are overcharging homeowners for services and not complying with state law by failing to report on…

A new report finds that wind developers rely heavily on traveling workers, often from other states, and solar developers also often use out-of-state workers for construction. 

Keynes might not actually have said, “When events change, I change my mind,” but the flexibility of his beliefs was legendary.

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.

Like the state generally, Minnesota's cities are not generating jobs fast enough for their growing populations

Minnesota leads other states on population growth and unemployment growth, but lags on job growth

A new study finds that Minnesota ranks 4th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for most expensive infant care. Child care expenses are a real problem for…

In the year from June 2018 to June 2019, Minnesota ranked 17th nationally for population growth, 34th nationally for employment growth, and 1st nationally both for the increase in the…

Sen. Warren's claims taxes on gun manufacturers magically do two things at once. On the one hand, they will stop gun and ammo sales. On the other, they will massively…

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.

For a while in the mid-1960s, Bob Dylan, born in Duluth and raised in Hibbing, was one of the dominant cultural forces in the world and a large part of…

Occupational licenses harm economic growth, are about protecting producers, not consumers, and have been increasing in extent in Minnesota in recent years. The fight to license our music therapists illustrates all…

For his own sake, as well as that of Minnesota's beleaguered farmers, President Trump should bring this trade war to an end.

Americans move around less than they used to. Research suggests that expanded occupational licensing requirements and more expensive housing have contributed to that. That is a problem for the US…

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.

When Boris Johnson was elected leader of Britain's Conservative Party, he was instantly branded 'hard right'. There is nothing in his record to justify that. It is just another example…

While Minnesota's occupational licensing environment might not be as challenging as in some other states, there is room for improvement and, at the very least, the growth of recent years…

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of Thinking Minnesota, now the second largest magazine in Minnesota. To receive a free trial issue send your name and address to [email protected]. Another shocking election…

As state and local agencies scramble to get their borrowing requests in, ask yourself two questions; 1) Is this really 'investment'? and 2) Should the government be doing this?

State and local governments have caused the shortage of affordable housing in the Twin Cities. Now, they are looking at policies such as subsidies and rent controls to solve the…

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.

New data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that Minnesota’s economy was only the 36th fastest growing in the United States in the first quarter of 2019. While the…